Grand Sport - XW Fairmont GS

By: Dave Morley, Photography by: Nathan Jacobs

Date: 03.04.2024

A Fairmont without the GS pack was like a GT, but without the price tag or insurance hassles

XW Fairmont GS

Back in the XW days, a GT Falcon was surely something to aspire to. But even back then, unless you were reasonably cashed up (or in a position to keep the bank at bay) a GT was still pie-in-the-sky stuff. And, of course, even if you did manage to park a GT in the driveway, unless you were 80 years old with a perfect driving record and a note signed by both parents, insurance companies would rip you to bits with their premiums.

All of which made stuff like Fairmonts and Falcons with GS option packs so much more of a real-world proposition. You could still option up a V8 engine and a lot of good gear that went with it, but without a GT badge to be seen, so the insurance company death squads usually left you alone. Even the highway patrol was less likely to take an interest. And when you consider that an XW Fairmont V8 was a full grand-and-change cheaper than an XW Falcon GT, the argument became even more difficult to ignore.

Which, we’ll assume, is how, on February 26, 1970, this very Fairmont was driven home from the Retell Ford dealership in the Melbourne bayside suburb of Mentone. We don’t know who the original owner was or where they lived exactly, but it looks like the car was a special order job (as opposed to a package dreamed up by a dealer to generate some showroom traffic) if only because it came off the Broadmeadows line just a few days earlier on February 20. And that theory holds water, because of the somewhat unconventional way the car was specified from the factory.

Remarkably original XW GS.

As well as the 302 engine, the first owner also specified the three-speed automatic (but not the floor-shift option) the GS Rally Pack stripes, steering wheel, hubcaps and extra gauges, a heavy-duty battery and front seat-belts. There was also a dealer-fitted air-conditioner and the chosen colour was Lime Frost with a basic black interior. Brakes are disc at the front which was standard on a Fairmont, but this car missed out on the optional (and very common) vinyl roof. Go figure.

The current guardian, Melbourne bloke Angelo Gargiso, doesn’t know the identity of the first or any subsequent owners, or even how many of them there were, but he does appreciate the originality and correctness of this car, not to mention what a special thing it would have been back in the day, And still is, frankly.

"The original number plates came with the car," he told us, but when I tried to get them reassigned to the car (they were only put on for our photo shoot) I discovered I could get KND-147 or KND-149, but not 148. So, clearly, somebody still has the rights for KND-148."

If you’re that person, please get in touch with us at Unique Cars and we’ll hook you up with Angelo who would like to make you an offer.

Meantime, the originality is what stood out in every other area of the car. The metal RACV badge was still on the grille, and Angelo has added to that with a reproduction rego sticker from when the car first hit the road.

Bent eight nestled neatly in the XW.

So why an XW, Angelo? And did it always have to be a GS?

"It all goes back to when I was a kid and my uncle had an XW Falcon 500 GS. I have great memories of those times and that car, so, yeah it had to be an XW specifically and it had to be a GS."

You get the feeling the fact his uncle’s car was a Falcon and this one is a Fairmont a bonus and is fine by Angelo, but may not have worked psychologically the other way round.

Now, you might think that back in 2013 or 2014 when Angelo first started his search, such a specification would be getting a bit thin on the ground. And it was, which is why he searched for about a year or two before one day in 2015 happening to look up an online car site and finding this very car staring back at him from the screen.

Original dealer sticker remains.

"I was pretty lucky and found this one just before the market and prices went nuts," he recalls.

Even luckier was the fact that the car was more or less in the same condition you see it in here. So the name of the game became one of careful preservation and fixing only the things he couldn’t live with.

"It was pretty much as you see it now. The motor was original but pretty smoky and rattly. It was tired and overheating and losing oil and just a bit worn out. So that got rebuilt to stock standard. While we were at it, I changed it from a two-barrel to a four-barrel carby, added the original ram-type power-steering and then put seat-belts in the back seat. There were a couple of rips in the seats that I fixed, but the crack in the dashboard I left."

Angelo with his pride and joy. Just like his uncle’s.

As it sits, Angelo reckons there’s nothing else he’d be prepared to change, purely because the old girl is so original in every other way.

"It’d be better as a 351, but being so original, I wouldn‘t touch it."

And what does he like most about the car?

Well, the memories it brings back of my uncle and the old days, and I love the sound it makes. I also like meeting people through the club I’m in, and I really love having something old, so old that’s still around and looking good."

Three-spoke GT wheel with rim horn.

These days, the car gets the occasional outing, but Angelo admits that he spent more time in it just after he bought it, before the kids came along.

"But we still use it every now and then."

It’s also had its 15 minutes of fame, too, and both Angelo and the XW were cast as extras in the 2022 film Wog Boys Forever. Apparently, there’s a car club scene where you can just make out the Fairmont’s shapely green butt sticking out of a garage. And you can’t miss Angelo; he’s the bloke in the same scene in the bright orange polo shirt.

And here’s how you know Angelo and this car were meant to be together: Sometime after the car landed in his shed, Angelo was looking online for some man-cave stuff and found an example of the original paper footwell protectors that Ford (and many other) dealerships once slipped into the car to prevent the mechanic’s greasy boots wrecking your carpet. He found the one you see in the pictures here, bought it, framed it and hung it on the garage wall. But it was only some months later when he realised that the protective sheet of paper was from the very same dealership that had delivered the Fairmont brand-new back in 1970.

Yep, absolutely meant to be. 

Big comfy chairs for long trips.

VITAL STATS 

NUMBER MADE: 105,785 (all XW), 118,666 (all XY)

BODY STYLES: Steel integrated body/chassis four-door sedan and station wagon

ENGINE: 4950cc or 5750cc V8 w/ overhead valves and single downdraft carburettor

POWER & TORQUE: 186kW at 4600rpm, 480Nm at 2600rpm (351 2V)

PERFORMANCE: 0-100km/h 8.6 seconds, 0-400 metres 16.4 seconds (351 manual)

TRANSMISSION: Three or four-speed manual or three-speed automatic

SUSPENSION: Independent with coil springs, anti-roll bar and telescopic shock absorbers (f). Live axle with semi-elliptic springs and telescopic shock absorbers (r)

BRAKES: Disc (f) drum (r) w/ power assistance

TYRES: ER70H14 radial

Cruisin’ in a Falcon GS, sweet.

SMART BUYER'S TROUBLESHOOTING CHECKLIST

BODY & CHASSIS

XW-XY Fairmont restorations typically occurred when these cars began growing in value around 30 years ago, with some needing the work already undertaken to be done again. Fake Fairmonts aren’t common but look for ‘JG34’ as the build number prefix. Places where rust emerges, even in previously restored cars, are wheel arches, lower door skins, floorpans, and between the rear window and boot. Check vinyl roofs for rust stains and bubbling, plus the spare wheel carrier and tailgate on station wagons. More serious are chassis rails that have been deranged in a serious crash and not properly repaired. Look down beside the engine for kinks and mismatched paint. Good-quality reproduction panels are available and it’s wise to join a Falcon club and discover the suppliers to avoid. Bumpers are also being remanufactured, but top-quality chrome costs money.

ENGINE & TRANSMISSION

Given the value of these cars and the premium payable for V8 versions, the most important items to check under the bonnet are the engine number and Build Plate. Finding a car with all of its original mechanical components will be difficult, but concentrate at least on finding one with the correct Y (302 V8) or K (351 2V) code stamped in the ‘Engine’ segment of the plate. Bearing rumble accompanied by smoke at start-up, ticking sounds signifying worn cam lobes and oil leaks, indicate an engine that needs work. If it’s the engine that came with the car, budget to have it properly stripped, cleaned and rebuilt using quality parts. What you spend will be generously repaid. Some cars will have been converted from automatic to manual (the Manual code is L) and may suffer clutch issues. The three-speed auto will survive almost anything.

SUSPENSION & BRAKES

Components found under a V8 Fairmont are basic and easily returned to factory standard or better. Rear spring leaves crush and crack, but pairs of new springs cost less than $1000 and new shock absorbers are easily acquired. Fairmonts will normally have power steering, which was a bit sloppy to begin with, but do check there is no more than 50mm of free play. Likewise a brake pedal that feels mushy or excessively hard before the brakes are warm, needs investigation. None of this is impossible to fix and $2500-3000 for a full brake job including drums, rotors and the booster is minimal outlay to ensure the braking performance of a car that even in sad condition can cost $50,000.

INTERIOR & ELECTRICS

Fairmont seats are durable but have a complex pattern and do split along the stitch lines. Such damage is easily repaired by a trim shop or for seats that really are showing their age, ready-to-fit seat trim kits cost $2500-3000. Complete dash surrounds cost $1800 and GS steering wheels are above $1500. Manual window winders that bind or have broken handles can be repaired but be cautious of non-functioning electric windows. The sunroof worked via a manual winder, so make sure it isn’t jammed or broken. Test the floor-mounted dipswitch to make sure you have high-beam lights.

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